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coram_deo 18-Aug-21, 19:34	Jesus Christ in Non-Biblical Writings One of the common complaints of atheists is that believers use the Holy Bible to prove the Holy Bible in sort of a circular, self-validating kind of way. Of course, this complaint is often from atheists who think the Bible is one book, when it’s really 66 books written by 40 men over 1,500 years. It’s as if atheists think all the Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament should immediately be discounted because the books in which those prophecies appeared were included in the Bible. If, for example, the book of Isaiah, written about 700 B.C., were not in the Bible, would that book and its Messianic prophecies suddenly gain more credibility? Nevertheless, Jesus Christ and His “magical powers” (read: miracles,) crucifixion, the empty tomb and His Resurrection, among other facets of His time on earth, are referenced in non-Biblical writings from around the same time period as the New Testament. And many of these non-Biblical sources were hostile to Christianity. This thread will look at some of the non-Biblical writings about Jesus Christ and when they were written. From coldcasechristianity.com: “Thallus (52AD) Thallus is perhaps the earliest secular writer to mention Jesus and he is so ancient his writings don’t even exist anymore. But Julius Africanus, writing around 221AD does quote Thallus who previously tried to explain away the darkness occurring at Jesus’ crucifixion: ‘On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun.’ (Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18:1) If only more of Thallus’ record could be found, we might find more confirmation of Jesus’ crucifixion. But there are some things we can conclude from this account: Jesus lived, He was crucified, and there was an earthquake and darkness at the point of His crucifixion.” coldcasechristianity.com This, imo, is a pretty extraordinary account and reflects the Gospels’ accounts of what happened at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Here, for example, is an excerpt of the crucifixion account in the Gospel of Mark that mentions the darkness: “And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:33-34) And here, in another Gospel account, the earthquake is mentioned: “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.” (Matthew 27:51-54) Here is a longer version of Julius Africanus’ writing on the darkness and earthquake and his disputing Thallus’ belief that the darkness was the result of an eclipse. From Wikipedia: “On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. For the Hebrews celebrate the passover on the 14th day according to the moon, and the passion of our Saviour fails on the day before the passover; but an eclipse of the sun takes place only when the moon comes under the sun. And it cannot happen at any other time but in the interval between the first day of the new moon and the last of the old, that is, at their junction: how then should an eclipse be supposed to happen when the moon is almost diametrically opposite the sun? Let that opinion pass however; let it carry the majority with it; and let this portent of the world be deemed an eclipse of the sun, like others a portent only to the eye. Phlegon records that, in the time of Tiberius Caesar, at full moon, there was a full eclipse of the sun from the sixth hour to the ninth — manifestly that one of which we speak. But what has an eclipse in common with an earthquake, the rending rocks, and the resurrection of the dead, and so great a perturbation throughout the universe? Surely no such event as this is recorded for a long period. But it was a darkness induced by God, because the Lord happened then to suffer. And calculation makes out that the period of 70 weeks, as noted in Daniel, is completed at this time.” en.m.wikipedia.org And from the source notes on the Wikipedia entry is this excerpt from “Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence” by Robert E. Van Voorst: “This fragment of Thallos used by Julius Africanus comes in a section in which Julius deals with the portents during the crucifixion of Jesus. Julius argues that Thallos was "wrong" (αλογως) to argue that this was only a solar eclipse, because at full moon a solar eclipse is impossible, and the Passover always falls at full moon. Julius counters that the eclipse was miraculous, ‘a darkness induced by God.’ Thallos could have mentioned the eclipse with no reference to Jesus. But it is more likely that Julius, who had access to the context of this quotation in Thallos and who (to judge from other fragments) was generally a careful user of his sources, was correct in reading it as a hostile reference to Jesus' death.” Also from the Wikipedia entry, Julius Africanus references Jesus’ “cures” and His Resurrection and says the Gospel accounts are trustworthy: “Sextus Julius Africanus writes, concerning the passion of Christ, ‘Concerning each of his deeds and his cures, both of bodies and souls, and the secrets of his knowledge, and his Resurrection from the dead, this has been explained with complete adequacy by his disciples and the apostles before us. A most terrible darkness fell over all the world, the rocks were torn apart by an earthquake, and many places both in Judaea and the rest of the world were thrown down. In the third book of his Histories, Thallos dismisses this darkness as a solar eclipse. In my opinion, this is nonsense. ..."
coram_deo 19-Aug-21, 18:11	Here is another non-Biblical source who references the “murder” of Jesus Christ by Jewish authorities and who calls Jesus a “wise king” whose teachings lived on. From coldcasechristianity.com: “Mara Bar-Serapion (70AD) Sometime after 70AD, a Syrian philosopher named Mara Bar-Serapion, writing to encourage his son, compared the life and persecution of Jesus with that of other philosophers who were persecuted for their ideas. The fact Jesus is known to be a real person with this kind of influence is important. Mara Bar-Serapion refers to Jesus as the ‘Wise King’: ‘What benefit did the Athenians obtain by putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as judgment for their crime. Or, the people of Samos for burning Pythagoras? In one moment their country was covered with sand. Or the Jews by murdering their wise king?…After that their kingdom was abolished. God rightly avenged these men…The wise king…Lived on in the teachings he enacted.’ From this account, we can add to our understanding of Jesus: He was a wise and influential man who died for His beliefs. The Jewish leadership was somehow responsible for Jesus’ death. Jesus’ followers adopted His beliefs and lived their lives accordingly.” coldcasechristianity.com
coram_deo 19-Aug-21, 18:57	This non-Biblical writer, who lived only several decades after Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and Resurrection, references the customs of early Christians and said they worshipped Jesus as God. If Jesus were not Resurrected, why would they do that? After all, Jesus’ disciples, after His crucifixion, went into hiding out of fear of the Pharisees - much as they had abandoned Jesus when He was arrested. But after Jesus Christ appeared to His disciples in bodily form (in His Resurrected body) after His crucifixion, His disciples became emboldened and not only preached in the name of Jesus Christ but refused to stop when the Pharisees beat and imprisoned them. Nearly all of Jesus’ disciples would go to their deaths for refusing to deny they saw Him alive after His crucifixion. Who goes to their deaths for a lie (i.e. something they know is false?) Peter, for example, who had denied knowing Jesus three times after Jesus was arrested, would be crucified upside down because he did not feel worthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. From coldcasechristianity.com: “Pliny the Younger (61-113AD) Early Christians were also described in early, non-Christian history. Pliny the Younger, in a letter to the Roman emperor Trajan, describes the lifestyles of early Christians: ‘They (the Christians) were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food—but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.’ This early description of the first Christians documents several facts: the first Christians believed Jesus was GOD, the first Christians upheld a high moral code, and these early followers met regularly to worship Jesus. coldcasechristianity.com Excerpt from gotquestions.org on Peter’s death: “The Bible doesn’t tell us how the apostle Peter died. The most commonly accepted church tradition is that Peter was crucified upside-down in Rome. Tradition says that, when Peter was put to death, he requested to be crucified on an inverted cross. The reason for his request was that, because he had denied his Lord, he did not consider himself worthy to die as Jesus had (see Matthew 26:33–35, 69–75). Again, this is only a tradition, and the Bible doesn’t confirm or deny the story.” www.gotquestions.org

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